Merchandise display cabinet



Jan. 20, 1953 KENNEDY 2,625,806

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY CABINET Filed March 29, 1950 IN VEN TOR. G. C.KENNEDY ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1953 MERCHANDISE DISPLAY 'CABINETGarland 0. Kennedy, .Petersbu i Va., assignor of vone-half to Elbert .L.PughandJulianA. Pugh, doing business as lPughs SuperMarkeit,..Petersburg, Va.

ApplicationsMarch:29, 1950, *S.erial:No.;152,;7-;06 :1 .Qla'im. '(01.62-89;5)

This invention relates to merchandizing ,and moreparticularly to -.acabinet fordisplayi-ng and preserving produce, particularly vegetables.

Heretofore, numerous devices of this nature have been proposed in whichvarious means has been incorporated for preserving the produce, amongthese refrigeration and water sprays, but these prior art devices havepresented numerous difficulties, :such as Llacko'f control foraccommodating different types of vegetables and vegetables in variousdegrees of preservation.

7 It is, therefore, .an object .of this invention :to provide a displaycabinet in which there .are ,provided troughs .or .bins .for supportingthe produce for sale, there 'being also-provided means for subjectingthe produce to an exceedingly fine satomized spray of refrigerated:water.

:Itis'a further object .of the invention to provide-adisplay cabinet forproducetin whichmeans is provided for regulating the cycle of operationof a water spraying system whereby the produce willibe subjected to such.spray for predetermined periods of time at predetermined intervals.

"It is a further object .of :the invention to pro.- vide a displaycabinet for produce in which :ad jacent :portions of the produce may besubjected to a water spray of varying intensity.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a display cabinet forproduce in which a refrigerated water spray system is incorporated, therefrigeration for this system being obtained from the normalrefrigeration system incorporated in the cabinet and in which thespraying cycle may be either automatically or manually controlled.-

It is a further object of the invention to provide a refrigerated waterspray system for use with a display cabinet the refrigeration for thissystem being obtained from the normal refrigeration system incorporatedin the cabinet.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a display cabinet constructed inaccordance with this invention and showing the internal arrangementwhereby the water supply for the spray system is refrigerated;

Fig. 2, a schematic diagram of the water spray system showing anautomatic timer for controlling the spraying cycle connected thereto;and

Fig. 3, a fragmentary detail view showing the manner of incorporating amanual timer or control for the spray system.

With continued reference to the drawing there isshown in Fig. 1 aconventional-produce display cabinet L0 having ;a lower closed bodyportion .11

provided with access doors l2 which permit ac-.

cess to a refrigerated storage compartment [3 located in the base ofthecabinet. This I.compartment is maintained at .a relatively .lowtemperature by refrigerated coils 14 disposed .therein, the refrigerantfor thesecoils being supplied by :a conventional refrigeration apparatus,not shown.

The cabinet to is provided with an upstanding back wall 15 and an.overhangin' shelf 1.6 which usually serves to conceal a light sourcefor illuminatingthe storage'bi-ns or trays ,Ifl formed .by the uppersurface-of vthe .base 11.0.. Traysor bins I! are separated by partitions.18 which normally may be disposed at any desiredlocation in order toaccommodate the particular uantity of any specific product to bedisplayed. The upstanding back :wall J5 is provided with a front panel19 which may-comprise a mirror or which mayserve to receive advertisingmaterial and :this panel also serves .to conceal refrigerating coils v20, -re1,a--

tively Warm air being supplied to these coils through louvres 2|adjacent the top .of the back wall and beneath the shelf l6, the aircooled by coils 20 flowing outwardly through louvres 22 adjacent therear of the trays or bins I! to cool the produce disposed therein.

It has been found in practice that produce is maintained in a fresh andpalatable condition for an appreciably greater time by providing a sprayof refrigerated water which is projected over the top of the produce inthe form of a relatively fine mist which settles thereon and whichmaterially contributes to the appearance and condition of the produce.It has also been found that the quantity of Water utilized and theduration of the spray period is directly affected by the type of produceand by the condition thereof and consequently in order to provide anapparatus which takes advantage of this situation, there is disposedadjacent each tray or bin I! a spray nozzle or head 23 through whichrefrigerated water is projected in the form of a relatively fineatomized spray or mist.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the spray system comprises a manifold or header24 to which is attached a plurality of pipes 25 each leading to a spraynozzle or head 23. Also incorporated in each pipe 25 adjacent the nozzle23 is a valve 26 provided with a finger engaging lever 21 which permitsconvenient individual adjustment of the output of each nozzle 23.

The manifold or header 24 is connected by a 3 conduit 28 to a coil 29disposed within the base ID of the refrigerated cabinet which serves tocontrol water flowing therethrough. The coil 29 is connected by aconduit 3|] to a solenoid operated control valve 3| which in turn isconnected through astrainer 32 to a main shut ofi valve 33 and a watersupply conduit 34. The solenoid operated control valve 3| is connectedby a suitable cable 35 to an automatic timer 36 which may be set bymeans of control knobs 31 to open the valve 3| at predeterminedintervals and for a predetermined period of time, thus permitting waterto flow from the supply conduit 34 through the cooling coil 29 and beexpelled'from the spray nozzles 23. At the completion of the'sprayinginterval, the timer 36 closes the valve 3| and flow of water ceases. Thetimer 36 is connected by a suitable cable 38 with a conventionalelectrical outlet 39.

Where automatic operation of the spraying system is undesirable orunnecessary, a manual switch control, shown at 40 in Fig. 3, may beconnected from the outlet 39 through cables 38 and 35 with the solenoidoperated valve 3|, manual operation of the control buttons 4| serving tocontrol the operation of the valve 3| and the flow of water through thesystem.

It will thus be seen that by the above-described invention there hasbeen provided a completely automatic means for depositing a fine mist orspray of water on produce displayed for sale in a refrigerated displaycabinet and in which the spray for any particular type of produce may beconveniently regulated. It will also be seen that installation of such adevice in a conventional display cabinet is relatively simple and takesadvantage of the refrigerating features'thereof to cool the water forthe spray system.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in this invention without departing either from the spirit orscope thereof and, therefore, this invention is not limited by thatwhich is shown in the drawings'or by that which is described in thespecification, but only as indicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A merchandise display cabinet comprising a hollow base having a backwall and a sloping top wall for supporting produce thereon, the backwall of said base projecting beyond said top wall, a front panelpositioned forwardly of said back wall and projecting upwardly from saidtop wall to provide a passage between said front panel and said backwall and communicating with said hollow base, said front panel havingopenings at the upper and lower edge portions thereof providing for thepassage of air therethrough, cooling means located between said backwall and said front panel for cooling the warm air admitted through theopenings at the upper edge portion of the front panel and dischargingthrough the openings at the lower edge portion, additional cooling meanspositioned in said hollow base, a plurality of spray nozzles mounted onsaid base adjacent to said front panel and projecting forwardly thereof,a water coil disposed in said hollow base in heat exchange relation withsaid additional cooling means and connected to said spray nozzles, andmeans for supplying Water to said water coil, whereby said additionalcooling means precools said water before its discharge through saidspray nozzles and cools the top wall which supports the produce.

GARLAND G. KENNEDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Tully June 21,

